Our home is a split level built in 1960. I’ve said this before but all of the people who swoon over mid-century modern (MCM) houses probably don’t live in real, unadulterated MCM homes. For example, in many of our rooms, we don’t have overhead lighting*. The light switches on the walls control the outlets. Which means that in rooms like the office, where the modem, printer, computers, etc are plugged into the wall, we have to pull these shenanigans so we’re not constantly killing our tech.
And while we have central air, the upstairs bedrooms are still very warm and a bit stuffy. To cool them to a normal temperature means the lower level becomes very cold.
Something I have very little experience with for my age is farming out large home repairs. Growing up, my Dad did everything in our house. (Happy Fathers Day, by the way!) And while I did have a house for a little while in the early ’00s, I mostly lived in apartments until we moved to the House on Literary Lane in 2015. WM is VERY handy, but there are some jobs that I don’t want him doing. And as I’m here almost every single day now, I’m the point person to get repairs/improvements rolling.
All of that to say I am really uncomfortable with hiring people to do jobs. It’s awkward and I don’t know what questions to ask or how to behave when they’re actually at the house. I feel like a very ill-prepared Lady of the Manor.
After over two years of engaging with various electricians, I’m very happy with how this turned out. Here’s a timeline in case you are also an ill-prepared Lord/Lady of the Manor.
In fall of 2021, we knew my MIL was coming to live with us, and that the outlets in her room-to-be weren’t the 3-prong outlet type. I asked our HVAC guys for an electrician recommendation to change those out. I waited 3 weeks on the schedule. The electrician arrived and changed the outlets. He was nice so I asked for an estimate for 2 ceiling fans along with getting the wall switches rejiggered to control the overhead fans and not the outlets. He said to call back and they’d send someone else out.
Spring 2022: I called, spoke with the receptionist/scheduler, never heard back.
Fall 2022: I called, spoke with the receptionist/scheduler, never heard back.
Summer 2023: I talk with Mom. She had the same electrician but they started ghosting her as well. She gave me a number for a new guy. I call the new guy, never get a response.
Fall 2023: Another call to the new guy, another non-response.
Spring 2024: I reluctantly join my township’s “What’s new in TOWN” Facebook group. I hate the drama of these groups, but what I learned from being a member of “Hip Citizens of Collingswood” (RIP) and their rival group “In the ‘Wood” is that the excel at recommendations. I find 2 guys.
May 20: I call the first guy for an estimate, he schedules me for Thursday, May 23.
May 23: He arrives! Gives me an estimate for 2 overhead lighting boxes, 2 fan installs, and 2 switch rewires. He tells us to buy the ceiling fans and when the arrive, text him back to get on the schedule.
June 6: I text with the info that the ceiling fans arrived; he responds the next day (I’m in love, to be honest) to get me on the schedule for June 13th at 10am.
June 13th, midnight-4am: I have terrible dreams of everything that can go wrong. Dreams include:
- Murphy shits all over the bedroom 5 minutes before the electrician arrives
- The attic collapses
- The electrician is electrocuted and we are sued by his estate
June 13th, 9:55am (!!) : Two guys arrive with their own dropcloths, vacuum, tools, ladders, etc. They immediately get to work and are finished and cleaned up by 1:30pm. The light switches are replaced and rewired. All I had to do is tell them where the circuit breaker is. I also gave them water, because I’m a human being. It was so easy.
And sleeping is blissful. We can turn the air conditioner down (or up to a higher temperature depending on how you look at it) because the gentle breeze.
The cost was $350 per fan, so $700 for the whole job. I tipped each of them $30 because I didn’t know if I should. The internet says maybe. They accepted and appreciated the tips. Our next electric job will either be a mass change of outlets to three-pronged ones, or an upgrade to our electric box, which I feel is sorely needed.
But I think the next Lady of the Manor task is either getting our driveway upgraded to a double driveway, or installing our own fences in the back. The fences you see in photos all belong to our neighbors, and one side is rapidly weakening.
I’ll update you in two more years. 😉
* I am an overhead light person. I realize that’s not the popular opinion but those two dresser lamps do absolutely nothing when I’m looking in my chest of drawers on the other wall. I may as well wear a headlight if I want to go into the closet.
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